Young-at-heart paddle around Greek Islands

Adventure travel not just for the young

By DEBORAH MOON

article created on: 2008-11-01T00:00:00

A DIFFERENT VIEW OF GREEK ISLES—Dirk Jensen, a NW Passages guide who
co-led a September kayaking tour around two Greek Islands, paddles
across the main bay of Milos. The Northwestern tip of Milos rises in
front of Antimilos, an island inhabited solely by wild goats.

Adventure travel—paddling around two Greek islands, jumping off cliffs into the Aegean Sea, kayak surfing, moonlight paddles—sounds like a vacation for 20-something fitness buffs.

But participants on my recent kayak trip around the Greek islands of Milos and Kimolos ranged from a pair of 20ish young women from Denver to a couple in their 70s.

“Typically we get people in their 20s to 70s, even a few teens,” said Rick Sweitzer, executive director of NW Passages which organized my trip as well as a variety of kayaking, backpacking, climbing, skiing and cycling trips around the world, including to the polar regions.

Adventure travel, at least trips offered by NW Passages, is a fun way for active people of all ages to see the world from a different perspective. Tack on a couple days at the beginning or end to see the more typical tourist sites and you’ll have a trip you won’t soon forget.

We arrived in Athens two days early and visited the Acropolis including the Parthenon, walked through the historic Plaka district and passed Hadrian’s Arch on the way to the Olympieion—the Temple to Zeus.

After our eight-day kayak trip, we took a ferry to Crete and visited ruins of ancient civilizations including Minoan (whose heyday coincided roughly with the lifespan of Abraham) and Roman.

Succeeding civilizations built on top of one another, a phenomenon easily seen at Gortyn in southern Crete. A Christian cathedral built in the 6th century sits amid the remains of a Minoan city alongside the Roman Praetorium (seat of government), which features the Code of Gortyn, the oldest surviving written law code in Europe.

But the heart of the trip was kayaking and visiting cliffs, beaches and caves inaccessible to the vast majority of tourists who visit the isles. We paddled along the base of cliffs that ranged from red, iron-laced rock to stark white bentonite or kaolite expanses. We paddled into dark caves, saw a dim light and paddled through narrow passages into a new bay. We enjoyed beautiful deserted beaches with no access other than from the water.

We might paddle hours without seeing a soul, then round a rocky point and find a quaint beach taverna where we enjoyed lunch.

Our paddling included sedate crossings of calm bays to paddling in seas where we couldn’t see over the swells. Paddling through a rough surf to land on a remote beach was immensely satisfying.

Our group of three guides, a travel writer and 10 others was smaller than usual since it was an “exploratory” trip. We were the “guinea pigs” for what will next year be one of NW Passages established trips. A more typical Inn-to-Inn kayaking trip along Crete’s southern coast the following week had 24 paddlers, including three in their 70s, said Sweitzer.

Though the paddlers on these trips are a diverse group in terms of age, fitness level and paddling experience, Sweitzer said he sees intangible common denominators among those seeking adventure travel.

“Typically the groups are made up of people who are more centered and more interested in the world around them,” he said. “They live a healthy lifestyle and are people who are engaged and engaging.”

That was certainly true in our group. Our conversations as we shared appetizers, dinner and wine were wide-ranging and engaging. I made fast friends with a nurse from Chicago who also owns a Mediterranean restaurant. We’ve swapped pictures and chatted via phone and email since our return.

The Milos trip included a few people who had previously kayaked around Crete with NW Passages, a couple of kayak devotees and a handful of kayak “virgins.” With that range of skill level, we spent our first afternoon in the calm bay outside Adamas learning rudimentary paddling skills and how to escape an overturned kayak and get back in in deep water. Despite paddling in sometimes rough seas, only Nat found the need for those latter skills.

The kayaks were very stable and the guides were adept at providing tips and guidance to get through all situations. When rough seas or exhaustion made part of a day’s paddle seem beyond reach, a van was handy to provide alternative transportation and site-seeing options to those who wanted a break.

While most of us kayaked entirely around both islands, only a few enjoyed the extra adventure of cliff diving and kayak surfing. I tried it all and enjoyed the adrenalin rush of previously untested limits. With my confirmed fear of heights, jumping off a cliff into a rough sea really got my heart pumping—even on my third leap.

For me, adventure travel is a new passion I hope to return to again and again for decades to come.

For information on this and other trips from NW Passages, visit www.nwpassage.com or call 1-800-RECREATE (732-7328).